Schenectady, NY
Schenectady wildfire risk explained
Schenectady's 21,061 buildings earn a 11th-percentile wildfire-risk score nationally under USFS's model — among the lower wildfire-risk places nationally. (Source: USFS's Wildfire Risk to Communities methodology.)
Separately from the risk score above, Schenectady's burn probability — fire likelihood with no building count factored in — sits at the 11th percentile nationally.
What "at risk" means for the buildings here
94.8% of Schenectady's 21,061 buildings sit in USFS's Minimal exposure zone, with only 4.5% rated Direct — risk here comes from regional burn probability more than proximity to burnable vegetation at the structure itself. At 21,061 buildings, this is a substantial built environment, so the shares below describe a real population of structures, not a handful of edge cases.
How Schenectady compares
Schenectady's 28th-percentile standing inside New York outpaces its 11th national percentile — this is a hotter spot than most of its own state, even though the state as a whole runs cooler nationally. Among the 31,521 US communities USFS scores, Schenectady ranks 27,963 for wildfire risk (1 is highest) and 661 by building count (1 is largest). Within New York alone, it ranks 936 of 1,289 places by risk. See the full county-by-county picture for New York on its state page.
Shopping for coverage in Schenectady
At the 11th national percentile, Schenectady rates low for wildfire risk — well short of the threshold where insurers have been withdrawing coverage, though comparing a quote costs nothing either way.
Lowering exposure, not just insuring around it
Even with 94.8% of Schenectady outside USFS's Direct and Indirect zones, basic hardening — gutter maintenance, ember-resistant vents — is inexpensive relative to the regional burn-probability risk noted above. Details in the home-hardening guide.
Where Schenectady's figures come from
Every one of the two percentiles behind Schenectady's 27,963-place national rank traces to USFS's Wildfire Risk to Communities dataset — see the methodology guide. The exposure-zones guide covers what Schenectady's dominant minimal exposure actually means, with real examples from across the dataset.